


bad guy

by WattStalf



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Drabble, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-07 03:57:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6784174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony and Rhodey reflect on their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	bad guy

**Author's Note:**

> All these stupid Tony feels I now have...my first non-piss and non-robosmut Avengers fic. You're welcome, I guess. Or I'm sorry, depending.  
> 

"Well, if not me," said Tony, "then who, exactly, _did_ you picture yourself with?"

"A girl, for starters," replied Rhodey. "Maybe blonde, and hotter than you."

Tony snorted and muttered, "As if."

"And," he continued, ignoring his interruption, "she'd be about ten times more badass than me. Maybe a pilot, or something."

"Hate to burst your bubble, pal, but it looks like your stuck with me."

"Yup, sure looks like it," said Rhodey, feigning a disappointed sigh.

"Come on, like you're really surprised." Tony's face softened. "You've always been there for me, through everything. You do realize you're the only person who's never let me down, right?"

"Oh, don't get all sappy on me," his friend- and now, perhaps, a bit more- groaned.

"Hey, I'm being serious here, and you of all people know how special that is!" he protested. "Besides, I don't know what you're complaining about. You've got _me_ _,_ after all."

"Oh, yes, whatever would I have to complain about there?" Rhodey snickered, and Tony huffed, only pretending to be put out.

After a moment of silence, he said, "You do know I'm serious, right? About you being the only one there for me."

The look on Tony's face broke Rhodey's heart, just as it always did, and it always did. A little more each time, because the fact that it was common only made it that much worse. He didn't understand how a man like Tony, who carried himself with all the confidence in the world and had done more than enough to earn it, could still believe he didn't deserve to be loved. Tony would always try that much harder to achieve something that seemed to be entirely out of reach, some imaginary goal that was too high for anyone to see. That was the downside to his ego, the notion that he should always reach higher than everyone else, that he should be able to accomplish the impossible because he was him. Once, his ego had only led him to be self-centered, but now, it led him to be self-loathing.

"I'm sorry," said Rhodey. "You don't deserve a lot of what's happened to you."

"Don't I?" He laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Don't give me that bullshit. Can you stop making yourself the bad guy for five minutes, or is it really just second nature at this point?"

"Sometimes I am the bad guy. You know that?"

"Everyone's the bad guy sometimes, Tony," he replied. "But not everyone gets to be the good guy, and you've been the good guy more times than most. So stop being so damn hard on yourself, alright? I didn't sign up for the pity party when I forfeit my future hot wife."

Tony snickered, and maybe it wasn't much, but at the very least, it was a start.


End file.
